Page 3 of One Knight Stand

Frankie, on the other hand, was in a league of her own in the hacked simulator. Not because she was good, but because she wrecked her car the most often. She had one speed…fast. Plus, she was unpredictable. It made her almost impossible to catch, unless you tailed her at a reasonable speed and waited for the inevitable accident in order to tag her.

Today, however, was a big day for us. We were moving from the classroom, and the simulators, to an actual car for the first time. My heart beat faster as I headed for the parking lot behind one of the administrative buildings, where we’d been told to report for class. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to drive, because I wasn’t emotionally or intellectually prepared for that. Plus, the whole learner’s permit thing…I’d never driven by myself. The classroom instructor had assured me it wouldn’t be an issue, since the permit was good enough to get me behind the wheel, but that didn’t calm my nerves. Luckily, all training for the course occurred on a private track run by contractors not far from UTOP.

There was already a gaggle of students in the parking lot when I spotted Jax Drummond’s dark head towering over several of the students. Jax had been one of the eight kids on my team during the UTOP trials. I made a beeline for him. When I got closer, I saw he was chatting with Frankie and Wally.

“Hey, Red,” Jax said, smiling and giving me a nod.

Jax always called me Red because of my red hair. He was tall, cute, and had green eyes and a killer smile. Tough exterior, but soft on the inside. He’d had a horrible childhood that had landed him in foster homes for much of his teen years, but by seventeen he’d emancipated himself and was working and going to school until he’d been tapped to try out for UTOP. He’d excelled in all the physical challenges during our trials and was a whiz at engineering, math, and mechanics.

Sometimes he had a bit of a problem with authority, and personal honor was a murky topic for him, which I figured could either work for or against him in terms of being a spy. But he’d proven himself to be a good team member and friend to me. He’d also kissed me on my sixteenth birthday a few weeks ago, after I said it was okay, but I still wasn’t sure what it meant, if anything. He’d never said anything about it after that, so neither had I. But it didn’t save me from endlessly speculating about how I was supposed to act around him now.

“Hey, Jax,” I responded, and then gave Wally a high five when he raised his palm to me. Wally was as awkward as me, so a high five was totally an appropriate method of greeting for us.

“So, guys, what do think is going to happen today?” I asked, pulling up the hood of my sweatshirt as defense against the cool wind. I should have worn a coat—it was November, after all—but it hadn’t seemed this cold in the morning. “Do you think we’re going to start doing evasive maneuvers like Y-turns or J-turns, or are they going to emphasize basic driving skills? I’m a little apprehensive about jumping into learning how to escape bad situations before I even know how to parallel park.”

“You’ll do fine,” Jax assured me. “Especially if you can translate your wicked virtual ability to the actual road.” I smiled at him and then quickly looked away, worried that I’d stare at his face too long and make it weird.

Still, it made me happy that he considered my virtual skill wicked good. One thing about Jax was he didn’t throw around compliments. If he said it, he meant it. The only problem was I wasn’t sure if his confidence in me was well placed. I didn’t know if could translate a virtual skill like driving to the real world that easily. My heart beat faster, probably from nerves, so I shifted from one foot to the other.

Frankie, on the other hand, was bubbling with excitement, her black coat unzipped. She wore no hat or gloves, a pair of black jeans, purple tennis shoes, and a purple shirt with sequins. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face with a headband covered in the same purple sequins as her shirt. Every time she moved, the sun sparkled off her.

“Slamming on the brakes, backing up at a high speed to avoid a roadblock, and then skidding the car into a 180-degree turn to escape has to be easier than parallel parking, but I can’t wait to prove that for real,” she said cheerfully.

I hoped I wasn’t anywhere in the near vicinity while she was doing that.

“Given our experience in the simulators, I’m sure I can do just about everything,” she continued. “I hope we don’t spend too much time in tedious instruction. Honestly, I’m kind of hoping to start at full speed.”

Given Frankie’s track record in the simulation, I wasn’t sure that was the best idea. Plus, I had my own issues that went beyond the driving experience. I hadn’t told anyone, but I sometimes got carsick riding in a car going at a normal speed. Who knew what would happen to me going at a reckless speed? I had medicine that helped a bit, but I hadn’t thought to bring it with me today. Poor planning on my part.

I considered darting back to the dorm to get it when a black sedan roared into the parking lot. It came to a skidding, screeching halt micro inches from the foot of a blonde student with her hair braided down her back. She stood frozen in shock, her eyes wide, her mouth open in a wide O.

Professor Grange, about fifty years old with black hair peppered with gray, leaped out of the driver’s side, leaving the door open and the car running.

“Good afternoon, students,” he shouted, grinning at us. “Who’s ready for class?”

We stared at him like deer in the headlights, until the professor lifted his hands. “That is a rhetorical question. Of course, you shouldallbe ready for class.”

Frankie giggled, which caused his attention to turn to us. “Well, Ms. Chang, thank you for volunteering. You’ll be driving today, while you three will ride in the back.” He pointed at Wally, Jax and me.

I stared at him in horror. No disrespect to Frankie, but Wally and I had once driven in a car with Frankie behind the wheel. I had promised myself that I would never,everdo that again. I’m pretty sure Wally felt the same way. Frankie had only one speed in the simulator and on the pavement—Mach 1.

A squeal of excitement came from Frankie. “Me? Driving? Are you sure, Professor?”

“Your name is Ms. Chang, and you’re in my class, are you not?” Professor Grange responded.

“I am. Woohoo! This is going to be so exciting.”

“Well, I’m quite encouraged by your enthusiasm,” Professor Grange said. “Now, for the rest of you, Ms. Logan will arrive shortly to take the next group for a ride. We’ll rotate drivers for the rest of the week, so, no worries if you don’t drive today. Your turn will come. However, it will be important to pay close attention to your instructor as we describe the techniques to perform the various maneuvers.”

He returned his attention to us and swept a hand out toward Frankie, Jax, Wally and me. “Students, please get into the vehicle. I’ll provide instruction from the passenger’s seat.”

I walked slowly, trying to come up with a reason why I couldn’t be in the same car with Frankie. I almost tripped on some extensions sticking out from under the car on each side. They looked like training wheels for a car.

Professor Grange caught me by the arm. “Careful, Ms. Sinclair. Those are antirollover wheels, which allow us to conduct high-speed skid maneuvers safely.”

I swallowed hard.Forgetting my medicine had been a serious mistake.

“Great,” I squeaked.

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